The gymnasium in Building G at the Dr. Robert L. Yeager Health Center looks a sci-fi movie scene: rows and rows of machines stretching from one end of the basketball court to the other, with power cords hanging like electric arteries from overhead outlets.

But soon these voting machines, along with privacy booths, ballots and assorted other equipment will be on their way to 68 poll sites serving 276 election districts around Rockland as the county gears up for the Sept. 9 primary and thereafter, the Nov. 4 general election.

The cost of an election: Like other county government departments, the Rockland Board of Elections has been forced to find ways to cut expenses as the county continues to fight its way out of a budget deficit that hit a high of $125.6 million in 2012.

It costs Rockland about $450,000 just to administer an election, according to county Election Commissioners Louis Babcock and Kristen Zebrowski Stavisky. Most years, that typically adds up to about $1 million to cover one primary and one general election.

Copy that: For about the last two years, the elections board has been scanning in petitions submitted by would-be candidates, Babcock said. If someone wants copies, usually to challenge the petitions' validity, the board can immediately provide a free electronic copy, he said.

Previously, an elections board worker had to scan the petitions, bind them and charge the person making the request. Sometimes, hundreds of pages needed to be scanned, each copy costing 25 cents per page, Babcock said.

The situation required workers to log overtime hours, but the new procedure eliminates the inefficiency and has cut overtime costs by as much as $25,000, Babcock said.

Cheaper printing: Rockland has also cut costs when it comes to the ballots it buys, with prices dropping from 52 cents per ballot to 33 cents per ballot, Babcock said.

The county now uses the Albany-based Fort Orange Press, which charges less and also throws in the envelopes needed for absentee ballots. That's one envelope to send the ballot to the voter, a second unmarked envelope that contains the sealed ballot after it's been filled out, and a third that contains the ballot being returned.

The county has cut its printing costs by about $100,000 in the past year, the 2014 adopted county budget shows.

Repairs: The county owns about 175 optical scanners, better known as voting machines, which it purchased from the Nebraska-based ES&S Election Software and Solutions.

The warranties on about half of those machines expire in September, Babcock said.

Rather than renew the warranties, the elections board has opted to set any machine it cannot repair to the side. Every quarter, it sends four or five machines out for repairs, typically at a cost of about $1,000 each, including shipping and handling, Babcock said.

Renewing the warranties on the entire fleet of machines would cost the county about $250,000, he said. Instead, it costs about $20,000 annually to make individual repairs, he said.

The department's 2014 budget sets aside $63,000 for various maintenance costs, including the outside repairs.

Twitter: @LauraInc15

By the numbers:

Total enrolled Rockland voters as of April 1: 189,039

Democrats: 88,040

Republican: 44,478

Blank (independent): 43,092

Independent Party: 8,230

Conservative: 3,992

Working Families: 896

Green: 305

Other: 6

Source: state Board of Elections

How many vote?

How many people voted in recent general elections in Rockland.

2013: 76,616, about 40.5 percent of all registered voters (county executive's race, all five town supervisors).

2012: 125,941, about 66.5 of all voters (presidential year).

2011: 62,300, about 33 percent of all voters (district attorney, sheriff, county Legislature).